Audiobook: Shadows of Africa by Wayne McCain (Narrated by Dave Cruse)

Man-Eating Lions!

4 out of 5 stars

“When a small team of former special operators land in Tanzania to grab a local warlord, it’s business as usual. But the situation quickly changes when they learn that a pride of lions has been feeding on the local populace. Unable to walk away leaving the locals to fend for themselves, the seasoned warriors are drawn into a conflict unlike anything they’ve ever taken part in. As they struggle to understand their new enemy, they’re led deeper and deeper into the unforgiving Tanzanian wilderness. Accompanied by a local game ranger, the team risks everything for the same reason they always have: their fellow man. Stay out of the long grass…”

Shadows of Africa wasn’t a book I’d usually pick up but recently I watched a documentary about man-eating lions and thoroughly enjoyed it. So on seeing this, I had to give it a try and in all honesty, I’m so glad I did!

Plot-wise, it isn’t the most action-packed read, but it makes up for it in the tenseness and thrilling aspect it has. A team of special ops is sent to Tanzania to grab a local warlord. This guy is the worst of the worst. While there they learn that some man-eating lions have been terrorizing the local people. Man, women and children alike are being taken, and the team knows they can’t turn their back on their plight. So they agree to stay and try to put a stop to the lions. But what becomes clear rather quickly is that the team aren’t the top predators in the wild and the lions won’t go down without a fight.

I loved the team! Their comradeship and loyalty to each other were awesome, but what I really loved about each of them is the fact that they wouldn’t let another human suffer and were willing to do whatever was needed to help someone else. They didn’t hesitate to go help with the lions, even though they didn’t know anything about hunting animals. I admired them!!

Another thing I loved was the way the author kept the feeling of tenseness throughout the story. My heart was in my mouth when the team was working in the long grass, or when they went anywhere!! I kept saying to myself…get out of the long grass!! Some of the scenes with the lions were incredibly visceral and they gave me chills. Lions are predators, so seeing that this was based on true events (the man-eating lions of Njombe), it made it all the more terrifying.

In all, this was a quick and thrilling read. Africa is an amazing place, but this book makes me think twice before going on a safari 😉 Well written and developed, it’s a great read and I recommend it to everyone.

Dave Cruse read this well. He was clear and easy to listen to, had plenty of voices for the different characters and gave a good performance. My only complaint is that I wanted him to portray the atmosphere a little better. His cadences and inflections needed a little more work to truly bring the tense and scary feeling to life.

When a small team of former special operators land in Tanzania to grab a local warlord, it's business as usual. But the situation quickly changes when they learn that a pride of lions has been feeding on the local populace. Unable to walk away leaving the locals to fend for themselves, the seasoned warriors are drawn into a conflict unlike anything they've ever taken part in. As they struggle to understand their new enemy, they're led deeper and deeper into the unforgiving Tanzanian wilderness. Accompanied by a local game ranger, the team risks everything for the same reason they always have: their fellow man.

Stay out of the long grass...

I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I'm a wife, mother to 4 wonderful boys and a total bookaholic 🙂 Im Irish and I read mainly anything Paranormal, Fantasy, Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic. I'm a big fan of Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries and binge watch them when Im not reading!